Home distilling and the law

In most countries, distilling for private use is NOT LEGAL. Even owning a distilling apparatus is considered to be ILLEGAL.

You need to check with your local law enforcement whether you are allowed to own and operate a distilling apparatus for personal use.
As far as I know, home distilling for private consumption
is considered to be legal in Russia, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria
and New Zealand. There are several countries which turn a blind eye on home distilling.

In the USA, there are even significant differences between the various states, so make sure you check what is allowed to do before you start.

It is illegal for unlicensed individuals to produce distilled alcohol..!

Under Ohio law, the illegal manufacture of moonshine is a first-degree misdemeanor, unless certain toxins are found in the product. If poisons are detected, it could raise the penalty to a fourth-degree felony.

What is allowed?

Under Ohio law, it. It is legal for individuals to produce wines, beer and hard cider, which have a substantially lower alcohol content.

Alabama: It is illegal brew your own beer or to make your own moonshine. It is a prohibited liquor.
Virginia:
It is illegal to manufacture liquor without a license due to various health, public safety and commerce issues. All Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) agents are trained regularly on still/moonshine investigations, and each year agents serve search warrants and conduct raids resulting in multiple moonshine-related arrests.

It is a federal felony to actually use this
information to build your own still and produce alcohol. The information
presented here is simply for informative, educational and game-use
only. In no way is this document meant to persuade people to actually
produce illegal alcohol. It is ill advised to do so, but if you
must, there are legal ways to do so. It is possible, in special
cases, to get a permit to build an experimental still, work on
solar power, or power an alcohol gassed automobile. If you decide
you want more information, look in the library under fuel alcohol,
distillery, or wine making.